Box Score by John Hackney
WILSON, N.C.-Janae Jackson and Faith Hunter scored 17 points apiece Saturday afternoon as host Barton College cruised past Fayetteville State University 80-57 in non-conference women's basketball action.
The Lady Bulldogs upped their record to 5-4 overall heading into the holiday break while FSU slipped to 4-2. Barton's next stop is Charlotte to take on Queens University on Jan. 3 in Conference Carolinas action. Barton is 3-0 at home after its highest single-game scoring output of the season.
Jackson, a 5-10 junior forward, hit 5-of-9 shots from the floor and was 7-of-8 from the foul line. She also snared nine rebounds and had three steals. Hunter, a 5-9 junior guard whose hot hand in the first half helped the Lady Bulldogs get jump-started, was 5-of-14 from the field and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe. Barton outscored FSU 27-3 from the foul line by hitting 27-of-36 attempts for 75 percent.
Junior forward Jolanda Mitchell chipped in 14 points and nine rebounds and sophomore guard Nyeshia Willie added 11 points for the Lady Bulldogs. FSU got a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds from 6-4 freshman center Bria Robinson. Sophomore guard Akysia Resper tallied 10 points and four steals.
Intense defensive pressure led to a whopping 30-13 advantage in points off turnovers for the victors, who lost the rebounding battle 43-40 to their taller foes. Mitchell and junior guard Elaine Morgan notched five steals apiece. Morgan also dished off a game-high six assists. Overall, Barton canned 25-of-60 field goals for 41. 7 percent, compared to 26-of-67 for 38.8 percent for the Lady Broncos.
The Lady Bulldogs scored the first basket of the game, but FSU went on an 8-0 run behind field goals from four different players. Barton then turned up the full-court defensive pressure, rattling the Lady Broncos and surging ahead for good with a 14-2 run. Jackson scored twice for Barton and Hunter swished back-to-back 3-pointers in the key surge.
Consecutive buckets from Morgan gave Barton its largest lead of the half at 41-23. That finished off a 14-2 run for the Lady Bulldogs, who led 41-25 the break, thanks to 45.5-percent shooting (15 of 33), a 21-17 rebounding advantage and a 12-2 advantage off FSU's 16 first-half turnovers. Jackson finished the half with 11 points, Jolanda Mitchell canned nine and Hunter eight. Resper paced the Lady Broncos with seven points.
FSU sank two free throws to start the second half, Barton responded with a 13-0 run to put the game away. Hunter had seven points in the decisive surge. The lead grew to 30 points at 73-43 on two fouls shots by Brianna Thomas with 4:52 left, then both teams substituted freely down the stretch.
Only league games remain for the Lady Bulldogs, who are hoping to seize their fourth straight Conference Carolinas regular-season championship and make a return to the NCAA DII Tournament.
